Proxy Settings for Desktops versus Laptops

Hello Folks:

We just installed a new proxy/firewall server and I have run into a
problem...

We are going to use a PROXY.PAC file to configure the computers on the LAN
to use our proxy server. We want to prevent the users from changing the
Proxy Settings on their computer so we used a GP and removed the connections
page.

One question is, if a laptop moves away from the network, (Disconnects from
our active Directory) will the computer still be missing the connections
page?

If so, what is the best way to manage laptops that need to remove the PROXY
Settings while in a hotel or Starbucks cafe, yet keep the proxy settings
active while connected to our Active Directory?

Please advise....
--
Bikini Browser of San Juan Puerto Rico
Small Business Office Automation
Small Business Document Imaging Solutions
Networking Solutions using Linksys & Cisco Products
http://www.daleallen.com
(787) 637-9100

Bikini Browser wrote:
> If so, what is the best way to manage laptops that need to remove the
> PROXY Settings while in a hotel or Starbucks cafe, yet keep the proxy
> settings active while connected to our Active Directory?

Can't you write the PAC file in such a way that the client will fall
back to DIRECT if it can't reach the proxy?

(I know that this is possible in a WPAD file.)



Grant. . . .

Forget writing manual PAC Files!

Get rid of the GPO that eliminates the Connections dialog.

Give up on the mentality of keep users away from certain settings,...instead
make sure that the only settings that actually work are the settings you
want so that the users have no "other options" to configure,...meaning that
if they change anything it simply "breaks" and they gain nothing,...if there
is nothing to gain and it only "breaks", then they will stop changing
things.

If this proxy you have follows "standards" then it can use Proxy
Autodetection via WPAD.
The WPAD setup helps the client find the proxy config script.
The proxy will publish is "script" from itself or a near by webserver.

Using MS ISA Server for example the "script" is not a physical file,..it
only exists in RAM on the proxy and dynamically changes and reflects the
"configuration" of the ISA (no manual edits). The ISA then presents the
script to clients from port 80 of its LAN facing interface. The WPAD Setup
tells the clients where to look for the script (ex.
http://<isaname>/wpad.dat). If no proxy is found,...like when Laptops
travel, the client simply operates in a normal "direct" manner.

Your proxy probably has similar functionality if it was worth buying it.


--
Phillip Windell

The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,
or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
-----------------------------------------------------




"Bikini Browser" <> wrote in message
news:%...
> Hello Folks:
>
> We just installed a new proxy/firewall server and I have run into a
> problem...
>
> We are going to use a PROXY.PAC file to configure the computers on the
> LAN to use our proxy server. We want to prevent the users from changing
> the Proxy Settings on their computer so we used a GP and removed the
> connections page.
>
> One question is, if a laptop moves away from the network, (Disconnects
> from our active Directory) will the computer still be missing the
> connections page?
>
> If so, what is the best way to manage laptops that need to remove the
> PROXY Settings while in a hotel or Starbucks cafe, yet keep the proxy
> settings active while connected to our Active Directory?
>
> Please advise....
> --
> Bikini Browser of San Juan Puerto Rico
> Small Business Office Automation
> Small Business Document Imaging Solutions
> Networking Solutions using Linksys & Cisco Products
> http://www.daleallen.com
> (787) 637-9100
>